Major Frickin ALDF Spin- Lonestari

J Infect Dis. 2001 Jun 15;183(12):1810-4. Epub 2001 May 17. Related
Articles, Links


Borrelia lonestari infection after a bite by an Amblyomma americanum
tick.

James AM, Liveris D, Wormser GP, Schwartz I, Montecalvo MA, Johnson BJ.

Division of Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases, National Center for
Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort
Collins, Colorado 80522-2087, USA.

Erythematous rashes that are suggestive of early Lyme disease have been
associated with the bite of Amblyomma americanum ticks, particularly in
the southern United States. However, Borrelia burgdorferi, the
causative agent of Lyme disease, has not been cultured from skin biopsy
specimens from these patients, and diagnostic serum antibodies usually
have not been found. Borrelia lonestari sp nov, an uncultured
spirochete, has been detected in A. americanum ticks by DNA
amplification techniques, but its role in human illness is unknown. We
observed erythema migrans in a patient with an attached A. americanum
tick. DNA amplification of the flagellin gene flaB produced B.
lonestari sequences from the skin of the patient that were identical to
those found in the attached tick. B. lonestari is a probable cause of
erythema migrans in humans.

Publication Types:
Case Reports



J Med Entomol. 2003 Jul;40(4):590-2. Related Articles, Links


DNA evidence of Borrelia lonestari in Amblyomma americanum (Acari:
Ixodidae) in southeast Missouri.

Bacon RM, Gilmore RD Jr, Quintana M, Piesman J, Johnson BJ.

Division of Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases, National Center for
Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Ft.
Collins, CO 80521, USA. RBacon@xxxxxxx

Amblyomma americanum collected near Lake Wappapello, Missouri, tested
positive for Borrelia lonestari using polymerase chain reaction and
sequence analyses of B. lonestari 16S rRNA and flagellin (flaB) genes.
Twelve pools containing a total of 214 nymph or adult ticks contained
evidence of infection with B. lonestari (minimum prevalence 5.6%).
These data suggest that persons in southeast Missouri are at risk for
exposure to B. lonestari after A. americanum tick bite, a possible
cause of erythema migrans-like rash illness in this region. Derivation
of the complete coding sequence for B. lonestari flaB is also reported.

PMID: 14680133 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Clin Infect Dis. 2005 Feb 1;40(3):423-8. Epub 2005 Jan 10. Related
Articles, Links


Microbiologic evaluation of patients from Missouri with erythema
migrans.

Wormser GP, Masters E, Liveris D, Nowakowski J, Nadelman RB, Holmgren
D, Bittker S, Cooper D, Wang G, Schwartz I.

Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, New York
Medical College, Valhalla, NY 10595, USA. gary_wormser@xxxxxxxx

BACKGROUND: Borrelia lonestari infects Amblyomma americanum, the tick
species that is the most common cause of tick bites in southeast and
south-central United States, and this spirochete has been detected in
an erythema migrans (EM)-like skin rash in 1 patient. Therefore, B.
lonestari is considered to be a leading candidate for the etiologic
agent of EM in this region. METHODS: Skin biopsy specimens obtained
from patients from the Cape Girardeau area of Missouri who had EM-like
lesions were cultured in Barbour-Stoenner-Kelly medium and evaluated by
polymerase chain reaction (PCR) targeting multiple genes. Serum
specimens were tested by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for
antibodies against sonicated whole-cell Borrelia burgdorferi. Results
were compared with those obtained over the same period for patients
from New York State who had EM. RESULTS: B. lonestari was not detected
by PCR in any of 31 skin biopsy specimens collected from 30 Missouri
patients. None of 19 cultures of Missouri skin samples that were
suitable for evaluation were positive for B. burgdorferi, compared with
89 (63%) of 142 cultures of samples collected from New York State
patients (P<.001). None of the 25 evaluable Missouri patients were
seropositive for antibodies against B. burgdorferi, compared with 107
(75%) of 143 New York State patients (P<.001). CONCLUSIONS: Neither B.
lonestari nor B. burgdorferi is likely to be the cause of EM-like skin
lesions in patients from the Cape Girardeau area of Missouri. The
etiology of this condition remains unknown.

PMID: 15668867 [PubMed - in process]

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